Luke Schenn Breaks His Silence On the Reason Why He Left the Toronto Maple Leafs

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Graham Montgomery
December 8, 2023 (7:28 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are significantly thinner on defense this season than they were last year. A large part of that is due to injuries, but the team also lost one defenseman in the offseason as Luke Schenn decided to head to Nashville. Now he has spoken up as to why he didn't re-sign with the Leafs.

Schenn Explains Why He Chose To Not Re-sign With Leafs

The 34-year-old blueliner recently gave an explanation as to why he did not re-sign in Toronto on the Leafs Nation. What he had to say was insightful and interesting.

"Things changed and Tre came in and had some good conversations with him too and at the end of the day everyone wanted to make it work and there's no secret, I started in Toronto and loved it there and got a chance the second time around which was kind of like a dream come true to get another chance to play there and a chance to play in the playoffs but in reality they're tight against the cap and business-side of things unfortunately came into it..."

Based on this quote is sounds like there was mutual interest between Schenn and the Leafs to bring the blueliner back but he wound up being a hard cap casualty. Ultimately, the Predators offered him a three-year deal with a cap hit of 2.75 million dollars.

The deal seems somewhat questionable for a 34-year-old bottom pair defenseman so it makes sense that Treliving was not willing to match or exceed it. While the Leafs certainly need help on defense, Schenn hasn't exactly had the best season.

Schenn Not Worth The Contract Predators Gave Him?

Some likely thought the deal was an overpay from day one. Predators fans were quick to point out that it was a lot to pay for a bottom pairing guy.

So far this season things are not looking great for the 34-year-old either. He has only played in 8 games, recording no points while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per night. He also has eight giveaways with just one takeaway to make up for it. Would he be an upgrade on the Leafs blueline right now? Yes, but it is impossible to predict the injuries the Leafs have faced on the back end this year. Regardless though, the Leafs will want to make a move or two to bolster their defense soon, especially now that they are running Martin Jones as their starting goaltender.

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